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This season marked Nevada’s sixth in the Mountain West, and after a slow start in the fall season, the Wolf Pack had a strong spring to record its most successful year in the conference.

The biggest headline was the basketball team’s regular-season conference title, which was followed by the school’s second Sweet 16 appearance. The baseball team also won a regular-season crown, marking the first time in Nevada’s MW tenure two programs won championships in the same season.

The success was more widespread than two programs. Men’s golf reached its first NCAA Regional since 2007, women’s basketball capped its turnaround with an appearance in the MW Tournament title game and swimming and diving finished third in the conference, including two medals in the NCAA championship.

Nevada’s average finish in the MW of 5.8 was a touch behind last year’s 5.7, but its combined record of 153-145 was better than the 144-147 mark the previous year. Still, there’s plenty of room for growth. Only four of the Wolf Pack’s 16 programs – men’s basketball; swimming and diving; baseball; and men’s golf – finished in the top three in the conference standings.

Here’s a program-by-program look at how Nevada stacked up in its sixth season in the MW, including a grade for this season, a review of the year and a look ahead to next season. While the Pack continues to do well in the classroom – eight of its 15 programs had perfect single-year Academic Progress Report scores – these grades are based solely on the on-field accomplishments of each program, with no correction for Nevada's comparatively lower budget.

Baseball

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Grant Fennell.(Photo: Jason Bean/RGJ)

Last year’s grade: D

This year’s grade: B

Record: 29-24 overall, 20-9 MW

MW finish: First out of seven

In short: There were two versions of the Wolf Pack. The one that played MW regular-season games and the one that didn’t. Nevada was 20-9 in conference regular-season games and 9-15 outside of those, an odd mixture for a squad that took a big step forward offensively and won the sixth MW title in school history. But it also went 0-2 in the MW Tournament and has lost five straight games in that event (and is 0-4 all-time as the No. 1 seed). Nevada deserves big credit for winning the MW title, but the ending was unfulfilling.

The future: Nevada loses three of its top four hitters, its Friday starter and its closer, but coach T.J. Bruce has recruited well, so there’s plenty of young talent remaining as Nevada aims for its first Regional berth since 2000.

Men’s basketball

In short: The Wolf Pack became the second MW team to win back-to-back outright basketball regular-season titles, and while Nevada stumbled in the conference tournament, it made up for it in the NCAA Tournament. The Pack pulled off back-to-back second-half rallies, including the second largest in tournament history, to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history, where it lost to Loyola Chicago by one point. The 29 wins tied a program record in what was arguably the best season in school history.

The future: It’s hard to follow up a Sweet 16 with an even better result, but Nevada’s roster will be even more loaded in 2018-19. The team will be a preseason top-10 pick with legitimate Final Four aspirations.

In short: First-year coach Amanda Levens improved the Wolf Pack’s win total by eight games and pushed the team to its first MW Tournament championship game, where it lost on a last-second shot to Boise State. Nevada then advanced to the semifinal of the WBI, marking its deepest run in a national postseason tournament. The Wolf Pack responded to a late-season 1-8 stretch by winning seven of its last nine. I grade first-year coaches on a curve based on what they inherited. Levens did a fantastic job.

The future: Nevada loses its top two scorers (T Moe, Teige Zeller), but returns guards Camariah King and Jade Redmon and forwards Terae Briggs and AJ Cephas and adds six freshmen. The future looks bright.

Cross country

Hiley Dobbs is part of Nevada's talented young cross country team.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year’s grade: C-

This year’s grade: B-

Record: 2-0 in dual meets

MW finish: Sixth out of 11

In short: Nevada finished sixth in the tough MW championship – one point shy of fourth – and has finished sixth or seventh in the conference every year since joining the MW. It followed that with a ninth-place showing out of 19 teams in the Mountain Region Championship, missing its top goal of reaching the first NCAA Championship in school history, but improving four spots over the previous year. The team also won the B race of the Pre National, its first away victory in an event in 10 years.

The future: Nevada’s top-five finishers at the MW and Region meets were sophomores, so it might not be too long before the Wolf Pack reaches the NCAA Championship if those runners continue to improve.

Football

Nevada quarterback Ty Gangi.(Photo: Lance Iversen/USA TODAY Sports)

Last year’s grade: D

This year’s grade: D

Record: 3-9 overall, 3-5 MW

MW finish: Fourth out of six in West Division; ninth out of 12 overall

In short: Nevada got off to a disastrous start in Jay Norvell’s first season, losing its first five games by a combined 84 points, including to an FCS team for the first time since 1994. It played much better over the last seven games, going 3-4, although we should note the three wins came over teams that were a combined 8-27 versus FBS foes. Nevada’s best win came over rival UNLV, which denied the Rebels a bowl berth. The three wins were the second fewest in Nevada’s FBS history, but Norvell inherited a tough situation.

The future: Norvell appears to be building a strong offense full of capable playmakers. The defense is a bigger question mark. Reaching a bowl in 2018 is a fair expectation for an upperclassmen-laden team.

Men’s Golf

Grant Booth.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year's grade: B

This year's grade: A-

Record: 55th in Golfweek/Sagarin ratings

MW finish: Third out of 11

In short: The Wolf Pack had an excellent season, improving its Golfweek/Sagarin rating from 91st last year to 55th this season while placing 57th in the GolfStat rankings, tied for the second-best mark in school history. Nevada also set the school record in scoring average, both total (287.45) and against par (+0.55) while tying the best finish in the MW Championship (third) and reaching its first NCAA Regional as a team since 2007. This was one of the elite seasons in school history, with this program being one of Nevada’s stronger ones.

The future: Gone are Grant Booth, arguably the best player in school history, as well as Corey Eddings and Jooho Lee. Those are not minor losses, but the talent remains for another Regional berth in 2019.

In short: Mari Nishiura, who set Nevada’s scoring average record (74.20) as a freshman in 2016-17, transferred to Oregon State in the offseason, and the Wolf Pack never really recovered. Nevada fell 34 spots year over year in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and 39 spots in the GolfStat rankings. After just three top-six finishes in six regular-season events, Nevada placed fifth out of nine teams at the MW championship, the Wolf Pack’s best showing in three years, which boosts the grade a touch.

The future: Nevada loses its top two scorers in Celyn Khoo (74.0) and Jordan Keyser (75.4) and was down to six players at season’s end. The four freshmen signed in November must provide an early lift.

Rifle

Mitchell Van Patten.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year’s grade: C

This year’s grade: B

Record: 6-3 in dual matches

League finish: Fifth out of six (in Patriot Rifle Conference)

In short: Nevada fell short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship for the sixth straight season. The top eight teams in the nation qualify, and despite finishing seventh in the final CRCA rankings (there are 23 Division I rifle teams), the Wolf Pack narrowly missed out. Nevada was the highest-ranked team not to make nationals. The Wolf Pack beat a pair of teams that did advance to NCAAs in Ohio State and Air Force and also set school records in air rifle, smallbore and team score, so it was a solid season.

The future: Key seniors Justin Nissen, Emily Capaul and Sarah Jameson graduate but stud junior Mitchell Van Patten returns. Nevada made NCAAs eight times from 2002-12 and will aim to return there in 2018.

Women’s soccer

Erin Otagaki was in her first year as Nevada's full-time coach after serving in an interim role the year prior.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year's grade: D-

This year's grade: F

Record: 1-18, 0-11 MW

MW finish: 12th out of 12

In short: I try not to be mean with my grades, but I’m not sure I can dole out any other grade after Nevada won just one game and ended the season on a 17-game skid. Its 18 losses were the second most out of 333 Division I schools (Chicago State went 1-19). The Wolf Pack beat a decent Sac State team (the Hornets went 8-8-4) in its second game and was then out-scored 45-6 over the remainder of the season. Nevada was shut out 13 times in 19 games. This program has struggled for a decade.

The future: The Wolf Pack allowed the seventh most goals in the NCAA and scored the 10th fewest, so it needs help on both sides of the field. Coach Erin Otagki has a massive rebuilding project here.

Softball

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Erika Hansen.(Photo: Andy Barron/RGJ)

Last year’s grade: B

This year’s grade: C+

Record: 27-27 overall, 12-12 MW

MW finish: Fifth out of nine

In short: Given the team’s .500 overall record, .500 mark in the MW and mid-pack finish in conference play, it’d be easy to give the team a straight C. We’ll bump it to a C-plus because Nevada played in the Postseason NISC for the second straight year. Nevada also was 7-7 on the road, 10-11 on neutral sites and 8-7 at home, so it was basically .500 everywhere. The Wolf Pack posted an RPI of 122, down from 95 last year (hence the drop in grade year over year). Nevada has built a powerful offense but must improve in the circle.

The future: Gone is stud OF Erika Hansen and all-conference honoree MW Aaliyah Gibson, but the offense should be fine. Lowering the team ERA (4.32 last year, second worst in the MW) and defense is key.

Swimming and diving

Sharae Zheng.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year’s grade: B+

This year’s grade: A-

Record: 3-2 in dual meets

MW finish: Third out of 10

In short: One of the top programs on campus for a couple of decades, swimming and diving had another outstanding year. The Wolf Pack finished a mildly disappointing third at the MW Championship behind Boise State and San Diego State – the Broncos were the clear favorite, but Nevada could have taken them down with a strong meet – but had an otherwise stellar season that included diver Sharae Zheng winning a record eight career MW titles in addition to earning a silver and bronze at NCAAs.

The future: Nevada loses Zheng but diving coach Jian Li You never disappoints, so there will be more in that pipeline. The Wolf Pack loses some key senior swimmers but should remain a top MW contender.

Track and field

Katia Coquis Lossio was a standout in javelin.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year’s grade: B

This year’s grade: D+

Record: No record

MW finish: 10th in indoor; eighth in outdoor (out of 11 teams)

In short: Last year, Nevada posted its most successful track and field season since moving to the MW, finishing fifth and fourth in the two championship events, but that progress was stalled this year. The Wolf Pack fell back to 10th and eighth this season. The main culprit was a lack of depth. Nevada sent nine athletes to the NCAA West Preliminaries, its highest figure during its MW tenure, and was strong in high jump and javelin, but didn’t have enough scorers to make much headway in the MW meets.

The future: Nevada loses three athletes who reached NCAA West Preliminaries (Leah Carter, Katia Coquis Lossio, Brittany Graves), but this was a young team, so expect progress next season.

Men’s tennis

Nevada's Julien Evrard was an All-MW player.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year's grade: D+

This year's grade: B-

Record: 15-8 overall; 3-4 MW

MW finish: Fourth (tied) out of eight in regular season; No. 5 seed in MW Championships (lost in first round)

In short: Nevada returned all but one key contributor from the season prior and made the progress you would expect under those circumstances. It flipped last year’s 8-13 record to 15-8 and beat rival UNLV in the regular season for the first time in four years. Yet, the team was under-.500 in conference play and was ousted in the first round of the conference tournament (by UNLV), which lowers the grade a little. The Pack had two sophomores – Julien Evrard and Kostya Nesterenko – named to the All-MW team.

The future: The return of Evrard and Nesterenko is key, but Nevada must replace Robert Margitfalvi and Peter O’Donovan, both excellent doubles players, if it will take a step forward among MW teams.

Women’s tennis

Claudia Herrero.(Photo: John Byrne/Nevada athletics)

Last year's grade: C

This year's grade: C-

Record: 9-9 overall; 1-3 MW

MW finish: Seventh (tied) out of 11 in regular season; No. 8 seed in MW Championships (lost in first round)

In short: The Wolf Pack took a small step backward this season. Of Nevada’s nine wins, two were over Division II schools. The seven D-I wins came against teams that were a combined 55-92. The Wolf Pack only had two wins against above-.500 D-I schools. Five of Nevada’s nine losses did come via a 4-3 score, so the Wolf Pack could have had a much better season if it had won some of those close matches. The team’s biggest weakness was No. 2 singles, where it was 3-13 (it was 51-34 in all other dual singles matches).

The future: The Wolf Pack loses its best singles player (Claudia Herrero) and best doubles player (Blaga Delic). It will be tough replacing those two, who went a combined 31-26 in singles and 37-12 in doubles this season.

Volleyball

Shayla Hoeft was among a number of players who left the program after the season.(Photo: Nevada athletics)

Last year's grade: B+

This year's grade: D+

Record: 10-20 overall; 8-10 MW

MW finish: Tied for sixth out of 11

In short: Nevada was hit with injuries, especially during non-conference play, which included a nine-game skid, and slipped from 19-11 last year to 10-20 this season. It didn’t slide as much in the MW standings but was 1-8 against the top five teams in the league (the Wolf Pack won only one set in those eight losses). The team then lost five players after the season: Peighton De Von (transfer to Gonzaga); Shayla Hoeft (transfer to Portland); Camille Davey (transfer to UC Irvine); Grace Crowley (medical DQ); and Ayla Fresenius. De Von, Hoeft and Fresenius were each key players.

The future: Nevada also lost senior Madison Foley, but added three junior-college players, a D-I transfer, a player who used to play for Nevada before taking two years off and three prep players. Lots of roster change heading into next season.

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.